InsideTech

If you have to be stuck at your desk all day, you might as well make it fun. From the totally useful to the completely random, there’s no end to the gadgets that can perk up your work day. Here’s our collection of the greatest office gadgets of all time!           Laser Trip Wire Fruit-Powered Clock USB ...

Technology, by definition, is constantly changing. That's part of what makes working in IT so great, but it can also cause its share of problems. Take your eye off the ball for a month and you could find out that the hot new programming language you selected for your company's latest Web app doesn't scale, or that security concerns have trashed ...

Every once in a while I’ll get a question from a reader, co-worker, or student about how to break into the leadership development field. The reality is, it’s not really an entry level profession, and there’s no one right way to get there. The leadership development profession includes trainers, coaches, HR generalists, managers, authors, speakers, preachers, and every combination of ...

Time flies when you're wasting it These days, no one can afford to waste time at work. Thanks to widespread downsizing, workloads are piling up. Unfortunately, extra hours in the day are not. Maximizing your time at work can mean the difference between leaving at a reasonable hour (i.e. holding onto your sanity) and staying late unnecessarily. You’ve got a ...

Indispensable Does Not Mean Always Employed With the advent of outsourcing, increased competition, and a tighter job market, the technology professional struggles to ensure that he remains gainfully employed. Using the techniques and ideas in The IT Career Builder's Toolkit can go a long way toward ensuring your ongoing profitability and growth in the field. This chapter discusses key ideas to ...

Professional writers often worry that their work is unnecessary. After all, can't anyone with even a basic education write? The answer: no, they can't. Even college graduates don't seem to be learning composition basics. Of course not everyone is going to be the next Mark Twain, but career success does depend on not looking stupid. Sure, some clients, coworkers, or resume ...

1. A Closed Body Whether sitting or standing, your body should be loose and open. Do not cross your arms. Do not cross your legs. While you may think it conveys a sense of ease, studies have shown that a people read a closed body differently: they subconsciously think you have something to hide. What's more, you're missing a golden ...

Celebrities. We love to hate them. We also love to watch their every move, laugh at their mistakes and scrutinize their decisions. Like them or not, their celebrity status means not only have they achieved career success, they’ve also got a hell of a lot to lose. And sometimes, whatever actions have helped catapult them to fame or rendered them ...

When asked for a recommendation on a current certification path for someone wanting to enter IT, Warren Wyrostek initially thought, "That is easy." But when he started to think about the most cost-effective certification, one that had merit, offered earning power, and provided career advancement, he had to pause and revisit the first steps one can take to begin a career ...

From clueless users to missing project requirements to misdirected tech support requests, we've all experienced these IT industry pet peeves. And how you manage them (or avoid them) can be the key to advancing your career. Here's how to deal with some of the worst offenders. The Requirements Slow-Roll Peeve: So you're working on a big project, building a new system ...

The workplace is not what it was five years ago. Neither is the job hunt. The most successful candidates are those who are ready and willing to adapt to a changing landscape. But it doesn’t matter how ready you are for the modern workplace if your resumé’s straight out of 1994. And sometimes, it's the most minute details that make all ...

Thinking of heading into IT consulting? Then you don’t want to miss the insight and advice from Doug Berg who started two companies, techies.com, an online job board and training center for tech professionals, and also HotGigs , a company that brings consultants together with the staffing firms that recruit them and the companies that hire them. He’s worked with job ...

Ah, Thanksgiving — a time for family, friends, tradition, and most importantly, deliciously indulgent comfort food. From dinner rolls to stuffing to mashed potatoes and gravy, Americans look forward to this holiday as the quintessential day to feast with no remorse and certainly no counting calories! But did you know that the average Thanksgiving meal will set you back anywhere ...

With recession looming—or underway, depending on who you ask—corporate budget managers are battening down the hatches when it comes to expenses. One of the areas where spending is stingiest is employee raises; last year's average increase of 3.5% may look like a bonanza from the perspective of 2008, when many companies are likely to be giving raises of 2% or less. ...

How much does it cost your company every time your network or your website goes down? Probably not as much as the millions per minute Amazon has on the table if it's down for any real chunk of time. Global enterprises like Google and Amazon are the overclocked gaming PCs of the IT world--very few people need a machine on that ...

What's the best way to make sure your department doesn't get hit hard by tough times--recession-based or otherwise? How about making it obvious how indispensable you all are? Sure, you could try the whole "take down the network, then stage a sick-out" routine, but that's probably not the most constructive way to get your point across. Here, then, are a few ...

The internet has made stalkers out of all of us. You know exactly what I'm talking about. But instead of stalking your ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend, consider using your newfound detective skills for more productive (i.e. less emotionally jarring) purposes, like snagging the job of your dreams. Interested in a company and need to find a person to contact? Google away. Trying ...

Some of us are night owls. Others, early birds. Apparently, based on your chronotype, you will be more naturally alert earlier or later in the day. And your type may dictate when and for how long you sleep. But while a natural variance in sleep patterns is natural, it appears that the early bird is indeed the more coveted of ...

All too often, work and what we really love doing are two very different things. If that's your situation, a layoff can be a blessing in disguise. The blessing might be disguised as a severance package or a chance to reorient towards a more fulfilling career path. It might be a time to reconnect with family and friends or just ...

Sometimes our faces and body language give away more than we're trying to reveal, especially in a tense or nerve-wracking situation like a first job interview. In some cases, we might not even realize that our brow is furrowed or that we're repeatedly tapping our toes much to the annoyance of a future employer. CareerBuilder recently surveyed hundreds of different employers, ...